Council adopts 2021 International Building Code in ordinance BB720

The City Council voted Aug. 4, 2025, to adopt ordinance BB720, updating the city's building regulations to the 2021 International Building Codes and other codes adopted by the State of Tennessee. Thomas Mullins of the city code department told the council the update is required and that the city is preparing for a state audit Wednesday by the State Fire Marshal's Office. "We are required to adopt certain codes," Mullins said, adding that the change mostly modernizes existing local practice. Council members asked whether the new rules are the same as the older Southern Building Code; Mullins said the state now uses the International Building Code and that the local update brings the city into alignment. He noted neighboring Dyer County has adopted the same codes in part but that he was not certain of that county's full adoption of the 2021 cycle. Council members moved to adopt the ordinance during the public hearing and the motion passed on a voice vote; the clerk recorded the outcome as passed. The council did not record a roll-call tally in the public hearing transcript. Adopting the 2021 International Building Code will be used by city inspectors and the fire marshal in plan review and inspections. Mullins said the updated codes include incremental changes since the 2015 cycle and that some changes are more "user friendly." The council did not attach additional local amendments in the meeting record. The council's action was described as necessary to maintain compliance with State Fire Marshal requirements ahead of the audit; the ordinance text in the meeting packet was identified as BB720.